Newsletter #34: ⌛️ Reorienting the "longevity" conversation (plus, healthy pumpkin fudge 🎃)
Recap from today’s conference at HLTH Las Vegas. Main Stage speakers included John Legend, Chelsea Clinton, Halle Berry, Jill Biden, and many more.
I was invited to speak on the Main Stage at the HLTH today in Las Vegas with a extremely high profile group of people, including:
🇺🇸 Jill Biden – First Lady of the United States
📽️ Halle Berry – Actor, Director, Producer, and Founder of Respin
🎸 Lenny Kravitz – Artist and Founder, Let Love Rule Foundation
🥼 Tom Mihaljevic – CEO & President, Cleveland Clinic
💉 Joaquin Duato – Chairman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson
🎹 John Legend – Artist, Entrepreneur, Activist
👩🏼💼 Chelsea Clinton – Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
🏥 Greg Adams – Chair & CEO, Kaiser Permanente
🎵 Lance Bass - Artist (N*SYNC)
🇺🇸 Kyrsten Sinema – US Senator, Arizona
🧬 Anne Wojcicki – CEO and Co-Founder, 23andMe
🗞️ Maria Shriver – Journalist & Women’s Health Advocate
HLTH is a healthcare innovation conference of 12,000 participants that brings together leaders from healthcare, insurance, technology, government, pharmacy, startups, and entertainment to discuss ideas and solutions aimed at improving health outcomes and shaping the future of healthcare.
In a sense, it felt like being in the belly of the beast of conventional healthcare: CEOs of pharma, hospital systems, insurance companies, media, and more. My intention for my time on the Main Stage was simple: inspire understanding about the preventable and reversible metabolic disease epidemic in the US, and try to cut through the noise in the healthcare conversation that often focuses on doubling down on the broken whack-a-mole sick-care system, rather than addressing the root causes.
My panel was focused on longevity, and I want to share with you a few of the ideas I was working with in preparation for the conference (I’ll share the video from today’s session when I get it, hopefully by next week!) 👇
⌛️ The "longevity" conversation is missing the mark
By focusing on niche longevity hacks, we are missing the real story on longevity: life expectancy is actually going down in America
What do Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and John Adams all have in common?
They all lived until their mid-80s (and even to age 90 for John Adams!). And, evidence doesn’t suggest that they were incapacitated in their older age. Benjamin Franklin was 70 in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed, and was writing his autobiography until the year of his death!
These facts contradict our common notion that “life expectancy is higher than EVER before.”
In fact, it was not inconceivable to live very long if you were born in the 1700s. In fact, in 1850, about 23% of women and 15% of men lived into their 80s or 90s, so if you were lucky enough to escape infectious disease and other causes of premature mortality, you had the potential to live a very long life. Long lives are not unique to the modern era.
Let’s compare this to today… 👇
According to a JAMA publication from November 2023, men in America now have a life expectancy of 73 years old 😲. Our male friends in Switzerland and Japan are living 10-11 years longer on average than American men: 83 and 84 years, respectively.
Not ideal. Yet this is the predictable outcome we’d expect in a country where the largest industries have a business model that profits off of illness and addiction.
Despite cumulative American spending on healthcare in the past 75 years likely somewhere north of one hundred trillion total dollars (that’s $100,000,000,000,000!), American life expectancy is going DOWN.
In fact, life expectancy has been going down for the past several years. The main reasons for this are purported to be COVID-19, drug overdoses, chronic lifestyle diseases (heart disease and liver disease), and suicide. When internalizing this data, it is VERY important to remember that preventable deaths from COVID-19 were largely due to weakened resilience due to underlying, chronic lifestyle comorbidities like type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. People who were metabolically healthy died at astonishingly lower rates than those with metabolic issues. In this sense, COVID-19 was a disease made lethal by our environment.
So, despite spending 2x more than almost any other country in the world on healthcare, prescribing more drugs per person than any other country in the world (19 perscriptions per person per year 🤦♀️ ), we can’t even keep life expectancy stable. And not only is our life expectancy declining, but our health during those years of life is poorer than ever due to preventable chronic diseases. Maybe we need to re-think our approach.
The devil’s bargain that will continue to shorten our lifespans if we don’t wake up and fix it 👇️
So what’s going on? Simply put, it’s a lethal devil’s bargain.
This is the devil’s bargain that drives our economy: we have a set of food, chemical, and agriculture industries that profit trillions per year from people consuming and using as much cheap, additive, chemical-filled food and products as possible, and we have a $4.5 trillion healthcare system that profits off of the resultant diseases that emerge.
A timely example of this revolving door: Look at all the toxic, cancer-promoting products that are getting a pink ribbon affixed to them for October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, like Delta donating to Breast Cancer Research if you buy toxic artificially colored lemonade and alcohol on your flight, pink containers for October for KFC chicken and Kit Kats, and carcinogenic personal care products claiming to support breast cancer awareness. Reminder: 50-70% of breast cancer cases are thought to be preventable, yet the dominant conversation is all about the cure (profitable), not the prevention (not profitable).
You can’t make this up. This is the revolving door: food system makes people sick; health care industry profits off of illness.
Every institution that touches our health in the US (insurance companies, hospitals, clinics, medical schools) makes more money when we are sick and less money when we are healthy.
A very profitable patient: multiple chronic illnesses for decades, on several pharmaceutical drugs, needs several surgeries over the course of their lifetime.
A very unprofitable patient: eats healthy, exercises, doesn’t develop chronic disease, on no medications.
👆️ These dynamics are a big, big problem for our hope for longer lifespans.
I believe the end of the “American experiment” will be us as a country ignoring the environmental root causes of the chronic disease epidemic in America, which include our toxic ultra-processed food system, tens of thousands of unregulated toxic chemicals (in our food, water, air, personal care products, and homes), destroyed Circadian biology (due to poor sleep, sun-phobia, and excess artificial light), rampant overuse of medication that overburdens our cell biology…. And, all the layers of corporate capture and social movements that entrench these realities into culture in our modern world.
The modern world we have created and allow has become hostile to our cellular biology.
And until we reset our priorities and choose to value life and health over profit and fitting in with cultural norms, I’m concerned it won’t get better. The good news is that we can shift our priorities and our values today: in ourselves, our homes, our schools, our workplaces, our purchases, our votes, and our communities.
The root causes of our shortened lifespans
If you look at what Centenarians (people who live exceptionally long times) most have in common, the usual commonality is insulin sensitivity, metabolic health, and good glucose control (all three terms are essentially synonymous).
Metabolism is how we make energy in the body. It is the set of chemical reactions that turn potential energy (food) into usable energy (ATP) to power our cells and lives. Simply put, it is the set of processes that creates our internal life force, the gas that keeps our cells working. Death is the cessation of metabolism. And right now, our environment on every level is destroying our metabolic function. According to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 93.2% of American adults have suboptimal metabolic health… Which means in the vast majority of us, our cellular “life force” is dimmed. Which means that we are allowing ourselves to succumb to an existence where we are a little bit less alive during this precious time we’re on this planet. This is the root cause of the chronic disease epidemic: underpowering of our cells due to metabolic dysfunction. Machines without enough energy don’t function properly.
In the longevity conversation, we are distracted, and we have lost the plot. So, before we talk about any expensive or niche longevity protocols or “innovations,” we need to fix metabolic health. We do this by ceasing the federally subsidized mass poisoning of Americans (through our polluted food, water, air, personal care products, excess medications), and getting back to the basics on a lifestyle that is conducive to metabolic health (sunlight, good sleep, stress management, regular movement, building muscle).
Hot longevity modalities like NAD injections, rectal ozone, and longevity peptides can’t overcome the toxic stew that we are living in. Fix the toxic environment first.
True foundational metabolic health will never be found in a shot, a pill, or a surgery. You can’t drug yourself out of living in a toxic stew. Medications have their place, but not in place of fixing the root causes.
Is longevity political?
No. It does not matter which political party is talking about this. The thing we should all be happy about is that any people senior in government are talking about this, because it means it is in the zeitgeist.
The cat is out of the bag; the genie can’t go back in the bottle. 🧞
The fact that we are now talking about things like regenerative agriculture, environmental toxins, forever chemicals, BPA, food additives, and pesticides at the presidential level is good for everyone. We should be excited that it is finally a part of the discourse at the highest level of politics (for the first time I can remember in my lifetime!).
In other news
Lastly, I want to highlight a slide from yesterday’s 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Scientific Report Meeting that is causing me to scratch my head 🤔…
The committee discussed a recommendation for “Reducing the focus of the Dietary Guidelines on chronic disease risk reduction and more on promoting growth and development.” 👇
See red box - Huh????
Perhaps this is meant to be empowering to people… perhaps it’s about focusing more on achieving health rather than reducing risk of chronic disease or reversing chronic disease.
Well, that might be well and good, if the vast majority of this panel were not paid by processed food and pharmaceutical companies that have a vested interest in Americans getting sick and needing medication.
Here is the list of conflicts of interests for the members of the committee that is making our upcoming USDA Food Guidelines for America: READ HERE.
Eli Lilly. Pfizer. Abbott Nutrition. Novo Nordisk. Bayer. Beyond Meat. Mars Candy. Nestle. The usual players. This is WILD, and also very predictable. But it is not minor. Being cozy with processed food and pharma – and part of the revolving door of profit from Americans being sick from processed food and racking up huge healthcare costs for the resultant disease – is not acceptable for a publicly funded Advisory Committee.
Stay aware.
With good energy 💓
Dr. Casey
🎃 BONUS: Healthy Autumn Treat! Pumpkin Fudge Bites 🤤
These are epic.
One of my favorite, Good Energy-approved, fall treats are the below Pumpkin Cashew Fudge bites by my dear friend Sonja Manning. Sonja is a home chef, entrepreneur, consultant, and on a mission to help everyone she meets eat a more metabolically healthy diet by cooking delicious, simple, and colorful meals made from whole foods.
This recipe is part of her Color Club (new colorful, blood sugar friendly recipes every week for $5/month or $50/year ) but today she's sharing it with the Good Energy Living community for free! You can also subscribe to her weekly free newsletter here. (Trust me, you want to join both!!!).
About the recipe
This is the perfect, easy, no-bake, healthy treat when you “just want a little bite” of something sweet, but without the refined sugars or blood sugar crash. They are great to bring to any fall gathering, and are very allergen-friendly. Pumpkin also has Vitamin A, C, E and is a good source of fiber!
Especially since there are so few ingredients here, the QUALITY of the ingredients really matters. For the cashew butter, Sonja highly recommends Artisana Organic Cashew Butter as she thinks it's the creamiest and makes this recipe taste the best. Also, most of the other cashew butters at major grocery stores have refined seed oils in them (e.g., sunflower and safflower seed oil) which you should avoid. You can get Artisana at Whole Foods, Thrive Market, or Amazon.
🎁 (Side note/fun fact, one of my favorite funny gifts I’ve ever given to my nut-butter loving fiancé is a literal 8 pound tub of organic raw Artisana nut butter — see here for 8 pound tub of organic Almond butter and tub of organic Cashew butter 🤣 ).
Recipe
Makes 20-24 small fudge bites
Total time: 30 minutes
Prep time = 5 minutes
Freeze time = 25 minutes
Kitchen Tools
BPA free silicone mini-muffin pan (they are super easy to pop-out of this!)
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
Mixing spoon
Baking sheet (to put the silicone mini-muffin pan on top of in the freezer)
Ingredients
2 cups creamy cashew butter (unsweetened, seed oil free - Artisana is best).
1/4 cup coconut butter or coconut oil
2 tbsp raw, unfiltered honey
1 cup canned pumpkin puree, unsweetened
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (which if you don’t have you can make with approx. 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp nutmeg)
1 tsp salt (and then more for sprinkling on top!)
~3 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds for topping
Instructions
Combine everything in a bowl and mix well.
Spray your mini-muffin silicone, muffin tins, or loaf pan with avocado oil and then scoop the mixture into the tray. Top with pumpkin seeds and some maldon sea salt.
Note: I like to use a mini-muffin silicone mold, but a loaf pan would work as well and you’d just then cut up the fudge into smaller pieces!
Put in the freezer for 25-30 minutes to set. Let them sit out for 2-3 minutes before devouring!!
Notes
Storage: Keep them in an airtight container in the freezer. Before eating, wait 2-3 minutes for them to soften up. They will keep in the freezer for up to a month!
Want to swap cashew butter? Try with peanut butter or almond butter for a slightly different fudgey taste!
Want to swap the honey?: You could also use 2 tbsp allulose or 2 tbsp maple syrup.
Want to see a video of these being made? View the reel Sonja made here!
Nutrition Info
2 per serving, makes about 10-12 servings
Calories: 310, Total Fat: 26g, Carbs: 16g, Fiber: 2g, Net Carbs: 14g, Protein: 8g, Sugars: 3g
👀 In Case You Missed It
🍽️The 10-Day Blood Sugar Reset by Dietitian Brigid Titgemeier from BeingBrigid
The AMAZING Brigid Titgemeier (registered dietician) is running a new cohort of her Blood Sugar Reset coming up in November, and I highly recommend you sign up if you’re looking for motivation, community, tactics, and recipes to get your blood sugar under control. The Blood Sugar Reset program includes meal planning, recipes and a shopping list done for you for 10 days, daily live coaching from Brigid, a supportive community and so much more.
Brigid has been a wonderful friend for years and she is one of the most blood sugar savvy health experts I know. Brigid has a master’s in public health nutrition and is board-certified in integrative and functional nutrition. Brigid was a founding dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine under Dr. Mark Hyman. Throughout her career, Brigid has worked with thousands and thousands of clients.
In this 10 day program, you can expect to transform your energy, mental clarity and mood during the 10 day Reset. Join Brigid November 4th-13th and commit to 10 days of eating whole, real foods that support blood sugar balance.
Stop feeling exhausted, start feeling good in your body and fall in love with eating nutrient-dense meals that are delicious! More than 22,000 people have used the Blood Sugar Reset roadmap to improve their symptoms - now it’s your turn! AND IT IS ONLY $9.99 to be a part of it! Sign up HERE.
👩🏫 STARTS TOMORROW! New Course for Healthcare Practitioners with me and Rupa Health! 👇️
I am running a 6 week course starting TOMORROW unpacking all things metabolic health!
Many of the healthcare professionals in this community have been asking for more information about all of the things I discuss in Good Energy.
I am so excited to share that I’m doing a 6-week bootcamp with Rupa Health starting TOMORROW where you’ll learn how to master metabolic health, transform your practice and your patients’ lives, and detect metabolic dysfunction early with comprehensive diagnostics.
Join me for for six comprehensive lectures, six live Q&A sessions, an included Access Medical Labs Metabolic Panel and a free copy of my #1 Best-selling book, Good Energy.
Live sessions will be held at 2:00 pm PDT / 5:00 pm EST on October 23rd, 30th, November 6th, 13th, 20th, and December 4th. All sessions are 60 minutes, recorded, and will be made accessible to enrolled practitioners.
Sign up for the bootcamp here.
🎙️ Radio and TV show with Glenn Beck
Check out my podcast with Glenn Beck as we discuss the issue of toxic chemicals in food and their negative impact on health. My segment starts at the 45:00 minute mark.
I was also on Glenn Beck’s TV show, which you can watch here (our segment starts at 39:45 mark).
This is a wake-up call for consumers to be more aware of the ingredients in their food and to demand safer and healthier options.
🎙️ Extend Podcast with longevity expert Dr. Darshan Shah - Launching next Monday!
My dear friend Darshan is launching a new podcast NEXT MONDAY, called EXTEND (here’s the trailer for the podcast!)! Darshan is hosting the best of the best in functional medicine, longevity, and fitness to discuss what really matters in our health. Darshan has an incredible story of personal healing and awakening in the healthcare space (he is a former Plastic surgeon, now CEO of NextHealth, acclaimed public speaker, author, and more), and he really knows what he is talking about. In addition to this, he is one of the most joyful, “good energy” people I know (I always prefer to take health advice from people are are truly thriving in their own lives!). Please subscribe at this link and enjoy this awesome learning opportunity with Darshan!
🧴 2 things I’m loving right now (not sponsored, just love these products)
Every single thing Osmia makes - I’m such a fangirl of this physician-founded clean beauty company and its fearless founder, Dr. Sarah. Please consider Osmia for upcoming holiday gifts and for any of your personal care needs - it’s 100% clean and sustainable and feels so luxurious to use. No artificial fragrances, all essential oils, sustainable packaging, super effective. My favorite products are the Lip Doctor, the Body Oil, the Body Mousse, ALL the body soaps, the Black Clay Facial Soap, the Face Serums, and The Purely Gentle Face Cleanser. The Face Cleanser even takes off my waterproof mascara easily.
New WeNatal’s brand new Egg Quality supplement that focuses on metabolic optimization of a woman’s eggs. You know I have been taking WeNatals multivitamin (“WeNatal for Her”) for over a year and it is a key part of my pre-conception journey and health routine (Note: WeNatal multivitamin is targeted as a prenatal but can actually be used as a high quality multivitamin for adult women of any age). And now, WeNatal has a new product focused on maintaining and improving egg quality. WeNatal Egg Quality is a powerful combination of antioxidants like CoQ10, NAC, and ALA to improve the cellular energy needed to prepare your eggs for ovulation while simultaneously detoxing your body of things that can influence chromosomal errors. The synergistic antioxidant properties of our formula help neutralize and reverse oxidative stress in order to optimize egg quality and the chances of a healthy pregnancy. I take Egg Quality in addition to the regular WeNatal for Her supplements each day (6 total easy to swallow pills). You can use my special link here for free omega-3s with your order of WeNatal for Her.
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